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March 10, 2001

Lillian S. Robinson recently wrote an opinion piece that was published in the Montreal Gazette on February 26, 2001. In it, she outlines atrocities that Israel is supposedly committing against the Palestinian people. Not only are her comments riddled with blatantly twisted and erroneous facts, she claims to be offended that people assume that Israel, a "foreign power", belongs to "us", meaning Jews around the world. Apparently, Ms. Robinson neither supports nor even wants to be associated with Israel.

As some of you know, I recently went to Israel with the Birthright Israel Experience program. It was not my first trip to Israel, but it was certainly the most amazing trip of my life. The knowledge, friendships, and experiences I gained on the trip will surely last forever. (For those curious souls, check out my online photo album).

Now, Israel has always been in the news a lot, but even more so over the past six months or so, since the Palestinian uprising began. When I arrived, nearly a month ago, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was only days after a controversial election placed an even more controversial prime minister into power. From the headlines, it seemed like there would be shootings and bombings everywhere. My parents and relatives expressed concern. As it turned out, there were no security issues or problems, and we had a wonderful, danger-free trip.

More to the point, I wasn't sure whether I truly supported Israel in the conflict. Yes, I believe that Israel is mainly right, and that the Palestinian-instigated violence would not be going on at the moment if it weren't for anti-peace terrorists. Yes, I believe that there's been a lot of media bias against Israel, a lot of which is unfair. However, not everything is black and white. There's been a lot of negative world opinion about Israel lately, and I didn't know if my ambivalence would come through in group discussions as a bad thing. Was I a bad person for having doubts about certain issues? A bad Jew? I mean, here's this organization sending me on a free trip, on the premise that Israel is my homeland and the homeland of Jews across the world. Would they try to brainwash me?

Between hikes and shopping and clubbing and having a great time, we also had some very interesting and thoughtful discussions on the trip. If I'd thought before that world opinion was divided, that was nothing compared to Israelis. The old joke says that if you put two Israelis in a room, you get three opinions. Well, that isn't far from the truth. Israelis disagree on practically every political issue under the sun. Should Israel give back the Golan Heights? Should Jerusalem be divided? Lines are drawn dividing hawks and doves, religious and secular, young and old, immigrants and Sabras, Russians, Moroccans, and the kitchen sink.

However, all these people are Israelis, and they all consider Israel their home. It was enlightening to realize that to support Israel is not the same as supporting every decision Israel makes or everything Israel does. The basic truth remains unaltered: Israel is important and necessary as a Jewish state.

I think that truth really hit home for me the day we visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Centre. Seeing what happened in supposedly civilized Europe, only sixty short years ago, made me appreciate the importance of Israel all the more. The one thought I kept having was, we as Canadian Jews feel so secure and confident that nothing bad can happen to us here - but the Jews in Germany felt that, too. The difference is, the Jews in Europe had nowhere to go. In the entire world, no country would take them. Today, despite all its problems, Israel stands prepared to welcome Jews from around the world with open arms. So if, G-d forbid, it were to happen again, at least we would have somewhere to go.

It sounds so basic that it's easy to forget how radical a concept this was such a short time ago. Despite Israel's political, social, economic, and million other problems, it's still vital and important to me as a Jew and a human being. This point is something that Lillian S. Robinson and her cohorts seem to have missed somewhere along the way.

Therefore, I may not always support every little thing that the Israeli government or society does, but I will continue to support the State of Israel and its absolute and unequivocal right to exist.